'Star Trek: Discovery' May 2017 Delay Is Good News for Trekkies

Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman have asked CBS for “more time” to develop Star Trek: Discovery which means the show won’t debut in January and has instead been pushed back to May. While this delay is a little disheartening for anxious Trek fans, this is nothing but good news overall for the quality of Star Trek’s next iteration.

According to Variety, the decision to push Discovery came after Kurtzman and Fuller evaluated the “realities” of their production schedule and felt that “these extra few months will help [them] achieve a vision [they] can all be proud of.”

A few weeks ago, two members of Discovery’s writing staff, Nicholas Meyer and Kirsten Beyer,told fans that they were working as hard as possible to deliver a series that would live up to expectations. Presciently, Nicholas Meyer even encouraged fans to “lower their expectations” to combat the inevitable come-down after the show actually comes out. This is why news of the delay is great for hardcore fans. It will grant everyone the time to calm down.

Oh man, these people are amped for the new 'Star Trek'Getty Images / Ben A. Pruchnie

With perhaps the exception of Star Wars, Star Trek fans are probably the most particular in the world. This is part of what makes Star Trek fans wonderful, but it also means that they won’t sit for slapped-together pseudo-Star Trek products. If Discovery was rushed into production by CBS and Paramount, fans were almost certainly bound for disappointment, which could lead to a full-on Trekkie riot.

Back when Star Trek: Voyager was ending its seven-season run in 2000, the executive producer at the time, Rick Berman, “begged [the studio] to let the franchise have a few years to rest.” They didn’t listen to him, and the result was a the rushed television show — Enterprise — considered to be the absolute lowest point for all of Star Trek. If Discovery is going to go where no TV show has gone before, it can’t fall into the trap of meeting a deadline just to appease (understandably) eager fans.

The cast of 2001-2005's 'Enterprise.'TrekCore

In the meantime, Fuller and Kurtzman confirmed they are looking to cast the female lead of Discovery very soon and that they hope to continue Star Trek’s long history of “inclusivity.” Star Trek: Discovery is set to start filming in Toronto at the end of the month, so we should be expecting casting news anytime now.

As Star Trek fans continue to hold their breath in anticipation of any news about Discovery, we should all take solace in Alex Kurtzman’s promise: “We aim to dream big and deliver.” Having a starship fully stocked and prepared is probably the best way for those dreams to meet the impossibly high expectations. Star Trek hasn’t always gone boldly right out of the gate, and oftentimes when it stumbles, it’s been because it wasn’t quite ready.